Network data usage has increased rapidly in recent years. Network service users demand higher bandwidth with better quality and secure connectivity. Modern network service providers operate local, regional, and nationwide networks to provide connectivity to users. These networks are built with a variety of equipment to perform various tasks, and such equipment may be manufactured by multiple vendors. Each piece of equipment may be complex enough to handle hundreds to thousands of simultaneous connections, and different pieces of equipment may be widely dispersed across a region. Wireless base stations, for example, may be geographically distributed across a city to optimize coverage and efficiency.
To meet user demand, network operators are investing heavily in network infrastructure and new applications to increase network capacity and maintain consistent performance. Today's network infrastructure is evolving faster than ever due to significant innovations in high-speed mobile broadband, cloud-based applications, network functions virtualization (NFV), software-defined networking (SDN), carrier Ethernet, and IP virtual private networks (VPNs). These advances in network technologies are impacting the underlying networks upon all network service providers. Service providers, introduce 4G technology, cloud-based infrastructure. NFV, and SDN to better scale and manage their services and infrastructure assets. These dynamics have been fueling a transformation from TDM-based bandwidth services to carrier Ethernet and layer 3 IP services such as IP-VPN and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) connectivity.
For example, NFV and SDN are two emerging technologies that are expanding the transformation of service provider network services. NFV uses virtualization technologies to design, deploy, and manage network services. NFV decouples the network functions, such as firewall, network address translation (NAT), domain name service (DNS), load balancing, WAN optimization, and intrusion detection, from dedicated, hardware appliances so that these network functions can execute in software and processes running within virtual machines. SDN separates control and forwarding functions, centralizes management, and programs network behavior using well-defined interfaces. SDN enables network control to become directly programmable, and the underlying infrastructure can be abstracted from applications and network services. With SDN and NFV, service providers can provide differentiated, revenue-generating service offerings to their end customers while reducing operational costs and simplifying network management.
Another extension is Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE), which allows service providers to offer voice communication services over their high speed 4G LTE infrastructures that was traditionally used for data only, maximizing the value, of service providers' investment. VoLTE is moving into mainstream production globally. As service providers are deploying VoLTE, service providers are also leveraging NFV technology to build out their VoLTE, infrastructure more efficiently and cost effectively.
These disruptive technologies lead to significant challenges for network service providers because network transformation is complex and labor-intensive. Service providers need to build out network infrastructure leveraging emerging technologies while also operating within their existing infrastructure and maintaining the high quality of service end users expect.
Accommodating new technologies can increase the complexity of network operations. The increased operational complexity may include, for example, lengthy circuit turn-up time, inventory inaccuracy, challenges in accurately resolving faults, or unreliable performance for high value applications such as video and VoLTE. To handle this complexity, today's mobile, wire line, and cloud data center service providers are looking for new ways to design, implement, and manage their network infrastructures.
Conventional operations support systems (OSSs) can no longer simply be tweaked to support end-to-end management of increasingly complex network infrastructures. Conventional OSSs are systems used by service providers to manage their networks (e.g., telephone networks or data networks). Conventional OSSs provide functionality including network inventory, fault management, service provisioning, and network configuration. Conventional OSSs often utilize, well-known, existing network management models to manage their network elements in service providers' network infrastructures. Well-known examples of network management models include FCAPS and OAMPT.
FCAPS stands for fault, configuration, accounting, performance, and security, which are categories that define network management tasks. FCAPS is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Telecommunications Management Network model and framework for network management. Fault management is related to identifying, correcting, and logging network problems (i.e., faults) to minimize network downtime. Configuration management is related to gathering configurations from network devices and applying configurations to network devices. Configurations may be hardware and programming changes, including the addition, deletion, or modification of network equipment and programs in the communications network. Accounting management focuses on gathering network usage statistics so that individual users, departments, or business units can be properly billed for accounting purposes. Performance management is concerned with managing the overall performance of the network and ensuring that network performance remains at acceptable levels. Security management is related to protecting the network against unauthorized access.
Another well-known network management model is OAMPT. OAMPT stands for operations, administration, maintenance, provisioning, and trouble shooting. OAMPT describes five types of network management tasks: operational management, administration, maintenance, provisioning, and troubleshooting. Operational management is concerned with day-to-day normal network operations. Administration includes support procedures for day-to-day operations. The support procedures can include, for example but not limited to, common passwords, equipment and tools access, and customer service report. Maintenance focuses on configuration and hardware changes in response to system deterioration. These changes include, for example but not limited to, scheduling service provider maintenance, standard network equipment configuration changes, routine equipment checks, hardware changes, and software/firmware upgrades. Provisioning is related to configurations that add, update, and remove network hardware equipment and network services. Troubleshooting involves diagnosis of network failures.
Regardless of the management model used, existing OSSs need to be highly customized to adapt, to differing network architectures of different service providers. Providers are constantly adding new services and infrastructure, and OSS software constantly needs to be updated to continue to provide useful network management applications. This often requires collaboration between separate network engineers and software developers and can lead to increased costs and development complexity.